Labouring through love
Reality series Labor Of Love adds SA flavour with local actor Alan Santini charming single love-searcher Kristy Katzmann
Over the course of eight episodes, Kristy Katzmann (season 11 of reality dating show The Bachelor, 2002-now in 2007) is searching for a romantic partner on dating “gameshow” Labor Of Love, Tuesdays on Lifetime (*131) at 21:00… or someone to get her pregnant. “I absolutely want to meet the right person, and I think that there is a different stake in this [finding love] for a woman, in this case it’s me,” explains Kristy. “This [show] really is my last chance to meet someone I would start a family with before I would pursue motherhood on my own.”
In among the 15 suitors vying for Kristy’s attention, you’ll hear a familiar accent – a South African voice. Alan Santini is one of the hopefuls on Labor Of Love. He’s been living in LA for 11 years, with his most notable acting work being a 2014 episode of cop comedy Franklin & Bash (2011-2014), and he’s got the scoop on the show, finding love on TV, and which challenge was the hardest – hint: it wasn’t the simulated childbirth test.
RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME
You’re into “normal” acting, like soaps and dramas. So why a reality show? I’d been approached by dating shows and I said no to each one – Labor Of Love too. In January 2019, I had a new year’s resolution to follow the principle of the Year of Yes – anything that wouldn’t affect me or my name negatively, I’d say yes to. And Labor of Love re-approached me and we filmed in April 2019.
What did the interview process consist of?
It was a number of interviews. First, it was video interview, then they wanted me to fly back to LA early – I was visiting my folks in KwaZulu-Natal. There was also a round-table too. We had to do all these psychological evaluations, physical evaluations. So we went through a lot for them to assess whether we were healthy… we had to sit down with psychologists – it was a huge process to select the right people for the show. What were your first impressions of Kristy, because we know her from The Bachelor? We knew her by her job: “a health sales rep”. We had no idea who she was in that sense. The producers came around after the first episode was shot and they came to our rooms [and asked], “How do you feel about the house, how do you feel about Kristy, how do you feel about the guys?” I didn’t really feel anything, to be honest. But I’m here, so [I thought] let the show just run its course.
The challenges are pretty interesting, like simulated childbirth… I was eliminated immediately prior to that episode. We did have some really fun challenges – it is actually the episode you don’t see. We had to learn the tango. We had to learn it in an hour-and-a-half and perform in front of behavioural psychologists and chemistry specialists, an audience.
What happens when you’re eliminated? Is it like other reality shows where you get put up in a fancy hotel? No, you’re out! The car is waiting outside, the luggage is packed. You [everyone] have to take your luggage out before every elimination episode. You walk out the door, into the limo and off to the airport.
What surprised you about being on a show like Labor Of Love? The obvious one is that the cameras are on you almost 24/7. You have a camera and a mic on you all the time. One part that I was bummed about was the limited episode length, in terms of what you see compared to what was filmed. We had some really amazing conversations that people should hear… 40-year-old guys who’re in the dating world and the challenges they face with [dating] women.
And 15 of you are fighting for one woman’s attention on the show… There were guys who took this very seriously and were deceptive and cunning about it, they would do whatever they could. It’s not really a competition. She [Kristy] will be attracted to who she’s attracted to. And what was it like working with host Kristin Davis (Charlotte in dramedy series Sex & The City, 1998-2004)? I’ve worked with famous people and I’ve never been starstruck. Labor Of Love is a very different setting for her, so she’s really down to earth, and we got to chat to her about life and that kind of thing, stuff that’s not about “the business”. She’d ask questions, she was engaging, just a great human being.
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